Away, Melancholy (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)

Away, Melancholy

This revision guide to Stevie Smith’s poem ‘Away, Melancholy’, from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1, Part 4 anthology, includes:

• Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choices that Smith has used

• Understanding the text: an exploration of the themes and ideas in the poem

Overview

To answer an essay question on any poem, you must understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Smith’s intention and message

‘Away, Melancholy’ in a nutshell

‘Away, Melancholy’ is a poem by English poet Stevie Smith, first published in her 1957 collection Not Waving But Drowning. In the poem, the speaker is attempting to banish their melancholy by trying to remember the beauty of the world and its miracles. It is ultimately a hopeful poem about the powerful force of the human spirit.

‘Away, Melancholy’ breakdown

Lines 1–7

“Away, melancholy,

Away with it, let it go.

Are not the trees green,

The earth as green?

Does not the wind blow,

Fire leap and rivers flow?

Away, melancholy.”

Translation

• The speaker is trying to get rid of melancholy

Smith’s intention

• The poem begins with anaphora as the speaker is urging melancholy to go away

• The repetition of “away, melancholy” emphasises the speaker’s determination to rid themselves of sadness:

  • The repetition also creates a rhythmic quality, reinforcing their insistence and resolve

• The imperative “Away with it, let it go” serves as a call to action, urging the reader to release their melancholy and embrace the beauty of life

• The questions that follow highlight the beauty of nature:

  • The contrast between the vibrant imagery of nature and the presence of melancholy highlights the speaker’s desire to reject negative emotions

Lines 8–12

“The ant is busy

He carrieth his meat,

All things hurry

To be eaten or eat.

Away, melancholy.”

Translation

• The speaker focuses on the role of the ant in the natural world

Smith’s intention

• These lines evoke imagery from the natural world, specifically focusing on the activity of an ant:

  • This imagery serves to emphasise the relentless and continuous cycle of life and survival

• The ant is often used as a symbol of industriousness and perseverance:

  • By portraying the ant as busy and focused on its task of carrying food, the speaker highlights the importance of diligence and determination in overcoming challenges

• The phrase “To be eaten or eat” reflects a simple truth about the cycle of life and the struggle for survival:

  • This line suggests that all living beings are driven by the instinct to sustain themselves

• Similar to the previous stanza, the imperative “Away, melancholy” at the end of these lines serves as a call to action

  • This urges the reader to cast off feelings of melancholy and embrace life

Lines 13–17

“Man, too, hurries,

Eats, couples, buries,

He is an animal also

With a hey ho melancholy,

Away with it, let it go.”

Translation

• The speaker makes a link between humans and animals

Smith’s intention

• Stanza four draws parallels between human behaviour and the behaviour of animals, highlighting similarities in actions, such as eating, reproducing and eventually dying:

  • The comparison suggests that human beings are not separate from the natural world but are instead important parts of it

• The exclamation “With a hey ho melancholy,” conveys a sense of resignation or acceptance of melancholy as a universal condition shared by both humans and animals

• The final line uses the imperative “Away with it, let it go”, which echoes the earlier calls to banish melancholy from the speaker’s thoughts

Lines 18–27

“Man of all creatures

Is superlative

(Away melancholy)

He of all creatures alone

Raiseth a stone

(Away melancholy)

Into the stone, the god

Pours what he knows of good

Calling, good, God.

Away melancholy, let it go.”

Translation

• The speaker looks closer at the unique attributes of human beings

Smith’s intention

• The claim that “Man of all creatures/is superlative” suggests that human beings possess qualities or abilities that set them apart from other creatures:

  • This declaration of human superiority sets the stage for further exploration of what distinguishes humans from the rest of the natural world

• The line “He of all creatures alone/Raiseth a stone” highlights humanity’s capacity for creation and innovation:

  • The act of raising a stone can symbolise the construction of monuments, buildings, or other forms of human-made structures

• The mention of “the god” pouring “what he knows of good” into the stone suggests the idea of a divine presence or essence infused within human creations:

  • This makes humanity the superior “of all creatures”

• As in previous stanzas, the refrain “Away melancholy, let it go” serves as a recurring call to banish sadness from the human consciousness

Lines 28–36

“Speak not to me of tears,

Tyranny, pox, wars,

Saying, Can God

Stone of man’s thought, be good?

Say rather it is enough

That the stuffed

Stone of man’s good, growing,

By man’s called God

Away, melancholy, let it go.”

Translation

• The speaker expresses a lack of interest in the negative parts of life and existence

Smith’s intention

• The speaker begins by rejecting conversations or thoughts centred on “tears”, “tyranny”, disease and “wars”:

  • These topics evoke suffering, oppression and conflict, which are often associated with melancholy or despair. By urging not to speak of these things, the speaker seeks to distance themselves from negativity and focus on more uplifting ideas

• The metaphor of God as the “Stone of man’s thought” suggests that human perceptions and beliefs shape their understanding of the divine

• The question of whether God can “be good” poses a philosophical question of God and goodness:

  • The speaker is questioning whether God can truly be good if there is suffering in the world

• However, the speaker does not answer the question and instead, leaves the reader to reflect on it

• Again, as in previous stanzas, the poem concludes with the imperative “Away, melancholy, let it go”:

  • This refrain serves as a recurring call to reject melancholy and embrace a more optimistic and hopeful view on life

Lines 37–48

“Man aspires

To good,

To love

Sighs; 

Beaten, corrupted, dying

In his own blood lying

Yet heaves up an eye above

Cries, Love, love 

It is his virtue needs explaining,

Not his failing.

Away, melancholy,

Away with it, let it go.”

Translation

• The speaker focuses on human beings striving for goodness and love despite their challenges

Smith’s intention

• The lines “Man aspires/to good/to love” highlight humanity’s desire for goodness and love:

  • This aspiration reflects the fundamental human longing for meaning, connection and fulfilment

• The inclusion of “sighs” suggests a sense of resignation or weariness in the face of challenges:

  • Despite the aspiration towards good and love, human existence is often marked by struggle, disappointment and sadness

• The image of a man “beaten, corrupted, dying/In his own blood lying” evokes a sense of despair and mortality:

  • However, even in this bleak situation, the speaker portrays the man as raising “an eye above” and crying out for love:

    • This image emphasises the spirit of humanity

• The speaker claims that a person’s “virtue needs explaining/Not his failing”:

  • This challenges conventional perspectives that focus on human flaws

  • Instead, the speaker suggests that the true essence of humanity lies in its capacity for resilience and love

• The poem then loops back to its original refrain, which is a message to banish “melancholy” and embrace a more positive outlook on life

Writer's methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Smith’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem is written in free verse without metre.

Structure

The poem consists of 48 lines, which are divided into ten irregular stanzas.

Language

The writer uses language to reflect the speaker’s desire to rid the world of melancholy.

Understanding the text

It is not enough to just know the poem really well as all questions in the IGCSE encourage an informed, personal response. Therefore, you need to develop a solid understanding of the theme, main ideas, settings, situations and events depicted. Even though context is not explicitly assessed in the IGCSE, it is important that you have an awareness of background information that is relevant to the main themes in the poem as this can help you develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text. This is so that you are able to demonstrate individuality and insight in your answer.

To help you do this, the section below has been divided into two main themes that Smith explores in ‘Away, Melancholy’:

• Sadness versus hope

• Humanity and the divine

Sadness versus hope

• Stevie Smith was a British poet and novelist who struggled with depression all her life:

  • It could be said that ‘Away, Melancholy’ is an autobiographical poem

• The poem describes the struggle that people have to find beauty and hope when faced with terrible situations

• The poem begins with a powerful refrain that is repeated throughout the poem to encourage the reader to get rid of their “melancholy” and “let it go”

• The second stanza of the poem directs the reader’s attention to nature through the use of rhetorical questions:

  • This immediately makes the reader reflect on the beauty of nature rather than its destructive force

• The speaker then focuses on the ant, who can be seen as a symbol of resilience and hope:

  • However, the symbol transforms into one of sadness through the oversimplification of a creature’s purpose “to be eaten or eat”

• The comparison of the ant with human beings highlights the primitive nature of human beings:

  • However, the speaker’s focus then moves to humanity and why it is superior

• The speaker then reflects on how humanity still strives for hope and “love” despite the challenges it faces

• The end of the poem is fuelled with passion as the speaker uses vivid imagery to highlight how a person’s “virtue” should be focused on rather than “his failing”:

  • It is an individual's resilience in the face of adversity that should be praised

Humanity and the divine

• In Stevie Smith’s poem ‘Away, Melancholy’, the theme of humanity and its relationship with God is explored:

  • The poem delves into the complexities of human existence, portraying mankind’s aspirations, struggle and resilience amid the challenges of life

• Throughout the poem, there is a recurring call to cast away melancholy and embrace the vitality and goodness inherent in humanity:

  • Smith writes that “Man aspires/to good/to love”, suggesting that despite the struggles, humans are made to strive and love

• The poem questions whether God is a human creation made to direct humanity’s hope and give them a focus:

  • The speaker suggests that mankind has created God by raising “a stone” and worshipping it

• The speaker claims that mankind has poured goodness into the stone and called “good, God”:

  • It could be inferred that the poet has placed the words “good” and “God” together to highlight the similarity in the words in order to suggest that humanity has poured goodness from themselves into the stone and called it “God”

  • Smith is therefore questioning God’s existence

• The speaker emphasises humanity’s capacity for creativity, love and virtue, while also acknowledging its vulnerability and imperfections:

  • However, the main message of the poem is that human beings have more strength than they may initially realise